Eternal Saṃsāra: The Wanderer of Worlds

[247] Encountering The Egyptian Gods

Chapter 247: Encountering The Egyptian Gods

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The room was dimly lit, with only a few lamps casting a soft glow over the circular table where I sat across from the four Satans. All four of them were here, Sirzechs Lucifer, Ajuka Beezelebub, Falbium Asmodeus, and Serafall Leviathan. 

Grayfia stood behind her husband, and Sona stood respectfully behind her sister, her face as stoic as always, while Mai and Elmenhilde flanked me, quiet but alert.

Sirzechs’ gaze landed on me, his eyebrows raised slightly in confusion. “I thought Rias would be here, especially with Sona coming along. And Gasper, too. Did something happen between you two?”

I didn’t reply immediately. Sona’s eyes flickered at my face, and then she cleared her throat, cutting in before I could speak. “They’re having a couple fight,” she said, her voice calm. “I’m sure they’ll figure it out soon. Actually, Rias was just serving tea to Aqua’s mother earlier, so it’s not as serious as you might think.”

I met her gaze, and she nodded at me. She had made this easier for me, I felt grateful. Sirzechs’ expression relaxed, and he nodded, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “That’s good to hear. Let’s not waste time on small talk then.”

He was right. This wasn’t the time to bring up whatever was going on between me and Rias. There were bigger issues on the table. I stayed silent, letting the conversation play out.

Sirzechs took a breath and shifted gears. His expression turned serious. “The situation with the Ogdoad is escalating faster than we anticipated. There’s going to be a large battle soon” He exchanged a quick glance with Ajuka, who gave a small nod. 

Ajuka continued in his stead, “Some of the gods in their pantheon are rumored to be mobilizing against the devils. Namely Osiris, the God of the Underworld. If they attack and we Satans have to fight, it won’t end well for either side. If this clash happened, then it’d be impossible to end things peacefully later on.”

I leaned back, folding my arms across my chest. “Wait, you don’t want to fight?”

Falbium Asmodeus sighed. “We don’t. A war of that scale would cripple both sides. The land problem that started the war isn’t worth this much blood. We devils aren’t large in number, to begin with; we don’t want to lose more of our people. We’re in a precarious position, and a full-on battle would leave us vulnerable.”

“Peace is our preferred option.” Serafall agreed.

“According to my calculations, it seems someone’s been pushing things toward conflict,” Ajuka chimed in, his tone as analytical as ever. “Some of the bad blood between the devils and Ogdoad feels too convenient, too calculated for it to be natural.”

I hummed. “I think I have an idea who’s behind it.” I motioned to Gasper, who was huddled in a corner, having chosen to hide away as he was uncomfortable with the attention. “This ties back to him. I’m sure you guys are aware of the Yokai criminal, Kuroka. I recently captured her, and she told me that Rizevim Lucifer has been after Gasper. The information is solid. It seems if he weren’t busy in the underworld, he’d have tried to capture Gasper on his own by now. I think he’s pulling the strings in the shadows, trying to provoke this fight between the devils and the Ogdoad. I can’t say why.”

The Satans exchanged looks, processing the information in their own way. Sirzechs’ eyes narrowed while Falbium looked thoughtful, nodding slowly. 

Ajuka let out a small sigh. “It makes sense,” he said, his gaze sharp. “Rizevim has always had a talent for stirring up trouble. If he’s playing both sides, it’s no wonder things have escalated the way they have. And he has enough reasons to play both sides, he doesn’t like us new Satans, and the current devil society as a whole. It connects the dots, but it also complicates things.”

Serafall crossed her arms, her expression fierce. “Since we all agree that he’s the most suspicious one, he needs to be dealt with. But not right now. Those gods are on their way here. We don’t have the luxury of dealing with both threats simultaneously.”

I considered this for a moment, then shrugged. “I’ll lend you guys a hand. I’ll take care of the Egyptian Gods,” I said, looking over at Sirzechs. It wasn’t as though the red Satan couldn’t handle them himself, but if he went into the fray, there wouldn’t be much left of anything. The power of Destruction was hardly a tool for peaceful negotiation.

Sirzechs nodded with a faint glimmer of relief in his eyes. It seems he too believed that I could get the job done without leveling half the Underworld in the process.

Serafall shot me a happy smile. “Thank you! I’ll tag along with you.” Her tone was light, but there was a steely resolve behind her words.

I gave her an approving nod. “Fine by me. But we can’t leave Rizevim unchecked while we’re out there,” I said, turning to the other three. “If he’s not dealt with, he might use this chance to escape. He might teleport to Kuoh to capture Gasper.”

Ajuka’s eyes gleamed with interest. “I see, so that’s why you brought him along…” he realized what I had planned from the get-go. “Yes, we can keep Gasper with us. If he’s in our care, Rizevim won’t have any reason to go to Kuoh. And with the three of us, he’ll be protected. Us three Satans shall pay him a visit.”

Sirzechs and Falbium exchanged a glance and nodded. It was a good plan, and they knew it.

“Alright, then it’s settled,” I said, rising from my seat. “I’m ready to leave whenever you are.”

Serafall shot me a playful salute, her wings unfurling slightly. “Then let’s get moving. The sooner we put this to rest, the better.”

Good, I felt good knowing that we had a plan—this would counter the chaos that Rizevim and the Ogdoad were trying to unleash. The meeting wrapped up, and I could already feel the possibility of the upcoming battle settle on my shoulders. I hope they’d be willing to go down peacefully. 

Otherwise, I’d have to dirty my hands today.

****

I saw Sona and Mai off as they stepped through the shimmering portal, vanishing into the flickering light. I had only brought Mai along to give her a glimpse of the Underworld—something like a dark date. But as usual, duty came knocking. 

Our time had been cut short, and I was left watching the space where the portal had closed, wondering when I’d get another chance to catch my breath with her. Similar to Akane, it felt to me like that girl deserved more than I could give her right now.

Regardless, I couldn’t make it up to her today. 

“Hey, come on already.” Once they were gone, Serafall and I shot off into the sky, each flying on our own, moving faster than the ice-board she had used earlier. 

The air rushed past us, and the landscape below blurred into a blend of colors as we cut through the sky. The underworld wasn’t the dark picture that people normally imagined. It used to be that way, but the modern Satans had modeled the landscape quite similar to Earth. It ruined the charm, in my opinion.

“Keep your ears open, Aqua,” Serafall spoke again, her eyes focused ahead. We were heading southwest, toward the Egyptian borderlands, where the underworld met the territory of the Ogdoad pantheon. The closer we got to the border, the more I felt the tension thickening in the air.

As we flew, signs of battle started to appear beneath us. The ground was scorched and torn, patches of earth healing slowly, as though the very land was trying to erase the scars left by the conflict. It was clear that whatever battles had raged here hadn’t been minor skirmishes. The earth itself seemed to shudder with the memory of it, and the few stretches of vegetation that dotted the landscape were charred and lifeless.

The further we traveled from there, the scars lessened. There was yet to be a battle in the area we were heading toward, and we hoped to keep it that way.

When we finally reached the border, the land beneath us seemed to split. It was as if an ocean of blue was meeting an ocean of green. It was odd. On one side lay the short, dark green grass of the Underworld. On the other was a sea of tall, yellow grass, the land of Egypt’s underworld. Even from the air, it was striking how the boundary seemed almost artificial. 

It was like a thin line had been drawn between two worlds, marking where one began and the other ended.

I was perplexed by another thing. Right between the two, there was a small gazebo, barely more than a few pillars and a stone roof, with a single figure sitting beneath it. 

The lady, who had large, circular horns, held a book, flipping through its pages as if oblivious to the chaos surrounding her. 

I squinted, trying to get a better look. “Who’s that?”

Serafall adjusted her flight path to fly beside me. “That’s Tiamat, the Primordial Water Goddess of Babylon. She owes Sirzechs a favor and has been overseeing the Rating Games as an administrator for some time.”

“What’s someone from Babylon doing here?” I asked.

“Well,” she hummed as if recalling information. “​​She’s an aspect of Apep, a serpent or dragon-like deity from Egypt who embodies chaos and opposes the order of the cosmos. Apep is the eternal enemy of the sun god Ra. Tiamat can be considered a good counterpart. So the Egyptians have a good relationship with her. With the mess we’re in, she’s come to lend a hand—she’s not here to fight, but she’s willing to help us talk things out with the Egyptians if that’s what we want.”

Interesting choice for a negotiator, I thought, as we descended toward the gazebo. I could see the exact moment Tiamat noticed us. She lowered the book, regarding us with a wise gaze. 

I landed softly, and she rose. The odd ethereal expression on her face didn’t change as she approached.

She wore a black jacket with blue embroidered patterns on the sleeves. Beneath it, a fitted black top with a deep neckline that covered almost nothing of her torso, all but showed off her voluptuous breasts. It also displayed a hint of a blue lightning-shaped tattoo on her abdomen. A loose purple tie rested over a lace choker, falling over her large breasts.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise?” she greeted us, her voice a smooth, steady murmur. Her eyes, however, betrayed a hint of curiosity as she looked me over like she hadn’t quite expected me to be here. “I didn’t expect to meet someone like you in a place like this.” She turned to Serafall. “You’re truly here to talk, I hope?”

What type of slutty dress is that? And she didn’t even look like that type of woman. Regardless, Tiamat clearly knew enough about me to realize that if I were here to do more than talk, things might end in a bloodbath. But, fortunately for her, that wasn’t my plan today.

“Don’t worry. I’m here to keep things from going south,” I replied. Serafall nodded in agreement, her posture relaxed but her gaze sharp.

“We’ll just wait for them to arrive now, I suppose,” Serafall said, walking over to the gazebo. But before she could enter, the underworld hummed.

A beam of light shot down from the artificial sky, illuminating the ground before us. We turned toward it as three figures materialized in the beam, and behind them, an army of gold-plated soldiers emerged, their armor gleaming even in the dull light of the underworld. They stood in perfect formation, an intimidating force that sharply contrasted with our small group.

I recognized one of the front figures immediately. He was hard to miss. Anubis, the Jackal-headed god of death. Beside him stood two other figures, both shrouded in power and presence. Serafall murmured to me, “The other two are Osiris and Nephthys. If they’re here, it might not be for a simple chat.”

Anubis stepped forward, his piercing gaze sweeping over us before he let out a scoff. “Is this what the devils have been reduced to?” he sneered, looking between Serafall and me. “Two representatives and no army? Are you so weak that you couldn’t even muster forces to meet us?”

I could almost feel the heat of his disdain. What an arrogant dog. I feel a little annoyed being looked down by a dog. I thought and stepped forward to meet his gaze.

Serafall and I exchanged a quick glance. I could tell she was ready to respond, but I raised a hand to stop her. “This’ll be more effective if I handle it,” I murmured.

I turned back to them. And I let my Sage’s Authority radiate outward, unfurling around us like a storm. 

The world shook. The ground beneath our feet trembled, and a gust of wind whipped through the air. I could see the surprised expressions on the gods' faces, even through their stoic masks. Anubis took an involuntary step back while Osiris and Nephthys stiffened, their eyes widening ever so slightly.

They looked at me with more focus now, and I noticed lights of recognition in some of their faces.

“Greetings, my friends,” I said, my tone calm as it carried the weight of my power. “Serafall didn’t bring an army because she didn’t come here for war. Although I completely understand if you feel threatened since she did bring me along.” I smiled politely, “But worry not. I’m here to ensure that we have a conversation, not a battle.”

For a moment, the gods were silent, their surprise evident. Even in their arrogance, they recognized when someone too powerful to take lightly stood before them. The tension in the air seemed to solidify. 

They could guess that I wouldn’t hesitate to act if things went south… And neither would they.

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